Like the first book, which has more than 60,000 copies in print, a portion of the proceeds from sales of "Colores Everywhere!" and "Hello Círculos!" benefits the San Antonio Public Library Foundation's Born to Read initiative, which puts books and a library card in the hands of parents of local newborns.

Marketing the Arte Kids series expands on the usual plan for a university press' selection of publications. The books are available not only at bookstores, gift shops and online, but nationwide at some Target stores. The first book in the series is available at all San Antonio H-E-B stores, as well as throughout the Central Texas region. An Arte Kids website and a tablet app is in the works.

"Everyone's appreciative of this kind of visual book," says Tom Payton, associate director of Trinity University Press. "The books are really fun, and yet they are visually challenging. There is a wide diversity of art to appeal to a wide diversity of people. And with the bilingual content, we've just had an overwhelming response."

Payton said "1, 2, 3 Sí" has done well on the awards circuit, too, winning the Moonbeam Children's Book Award Gold Medal (best board book), taking second place for best educational children's bilingual book in the International Latino Book Awards and getting into the finals of Foreword magazine Best Children's Book Award (picture books).

Initially, "1,2,3 Sí" was intended to be a single publication.

"We didn't think it would be a series at first," said Emily Jones, director of special projects at the San Antonio Museum of Art. "But the book has been so well-received that we decided to do more. The response has been tremendous. We try to choose objects that are on view at the museum and will likely remain on view because we want people to be able to come to the museum and see them in person."

Payton said at least two more books are planned for the Arte Kids series: on animals and contrast, or black and white.

Tracey Bennett, president of the library foundation, calls the partnership among the three local organizations "amazing."

"It doesn't happen often," she pointed out, "for three organizations to come together on such a successful venture. And the books allow kids not only to embrace a love of reading, but to develop an interest in art as well."